These Riddles Three
by midnight.wolf62
Summary: The life of thousands might very well rest in the hands of a stranger with a funny mask. One-shot.


**These Riddles Three**

The life of thousands might very well rest in the hands of a stranger with a funny mask. One-shot.

* * *

><p>As Krillen alarmed his friends, Dr. Gero rushed into his lab and straight to his androids. He had hoped not to use them... but he no longer had any other options. The enemies were closing in and, dare he say it, things were not looking good for him. So, without any further adieu, the doctor woke up his creations.<p>

Seventeen was the first to step out of his capsole. Deftly, he glanced at the remote control in the doctor's hand, and he understood instantly what it was capable of doing to him. So he smiled. "Good morning, Dr. Gero."

"That was a polite greeting," the man replied, blinking in surprise.

Seventeen didn't miss a beat. "Of course, sir. You gave me life."

And now the doctor just couldn't wait to wake up Eighteen. Oh, the surprises in store.

After Eighteen's polite greeting and the doctor's unnecessary ramblings, they got on to the subject of Goku's allies and their intention of ending the villains' lives. The androids would take care of them, of course. The doctor cackled delightfully, already imagining the deaths of his enemies as they tried breaking down the entrance. Oh, how beautiful it would be. How -

"Dr. Gero."

The doctor scowled, but turned back to his androids nonetheless. "What is it?"

"Where's the remote?" Seventeen asked casually.

"Come again?"

"The emergency cut-off unit," Eighteen supplied.

Without even thinking, the doctor looked down to his right hand - and gasped dramatically when he found that it was indeed gone. "What! Where is it?"

"Didn't we just ask that?" Eighteen said to her brother. He shrugged, and together they watched the doctor freak out. Because as long as the doctor didn't have the remote in his hands, the chances of them getting put back to sleep were nil. So, they were pretty okay with the situation.

BOOM!

And that would be the entrance exploding from Vegeta's attack. The doctor froze in his search.

For a while, nobody moved, as they simply sized their opponents up.

"You nuisances," the doctor seethed, breaking the silence. "Quickly! Seventeen, Eighteen - get rid of them!"

"Oh, shut up. You can't order us around anymore - not without that remote," Seventeen replied.

"What did you say?" Dr. Gero shouted. Nobody seemed to hear him. The prospect of a remote was far more interesting.

"Remote?" Piccolo repeated. "What remote?"

"There's a remote?"

"Like, a remote to control the andoids?"

"Oh, you mean like how some remotes can control toys? I guess that makes sense."

"I don't remember a remote in the future..."

"Ah. Does he mean this?"

All heads turned to the new voice in the very back of the cave. A lone figure stood, wearing a black cloak that covered (by the sound of the voice) her whole body.

Everything about her attire was quite plain. Except the mask. Though it depicted a human, it was... unique, to say the least. A lazy grin outlined in red was painted on. Under a large, bulbous nose rested a black, curly mustache. The eye-holes also were outlined in the same rosey color, even though the eye brows - permanently raised in amusement - had been painted on blue.

There was nothing that gave away her real identity or individuality, if you excluded the purple eyes peeking from behind the small eye-holes. Besides the mask and the cloak, a hood covered her head and black gloves protected her hands.

And then, clutched casually in one of those hands... was the remote.

"You!" Dr. Gero managed to choke out. He pointed a shaky finger at the unknown figure. "Who are you and why do you have the remote?"

"How did she even get in without anyone noticing?" Krillen whispered nervously to his friends.

"Meh, call me Bob," the stranger easily replied. "I got in with... magic. So - " She gestured the remote by waving it slightly in front of them. "What's this do?"

Dr. Gero bristled at even more interferences. "It's none of your business! Just hand it over!"

The stranger rested her chin on a fist, deep in an internal struggle (Much like The Thinker). "Hm... Hmmmm... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm - No."

Krillen's eyes softened. "Look, she probably just wandered in here by accident." Piccolo scoffed at the possibility. "Hey, girl, you should probably - "

"I'm still curious though. Just what does this remote do?" she asked again, hovering a finger above the red button. She hadn't even glanced in Krillen's direction, causing the fighter to deflate.

"It explodes the lab!" Dr. Gero shouted hastily. "Now give it back to its rightful owner!"

It was a bluff, obviously, but no one knew for certain except for the doctor and his androids. (The latter of which were keeping quiet and enjoying the show.)

The stranger went along with it. Her finger pulled back slightly, building up some kind of twisted hope in Dr. Gero's chest. It instantly deflated, however, at her next words.

"Well, that's okay. I'm sure I'll make it out in time."

And the finger drew closer to the button again.

A rare sort of panic overcame Vegeta. His Saiyan senses were tingling, telling him that the remote had to do with the androids and not the lab itself. And the thought of not being able to fight ridiculously strong warriors who wanted to bring gory chaos and tragedy to the world just didn't sit right with him.

"If you even think of pressing that button, I will hunt you down and kill not just you, but your entire family!" Vegeta threatened.

That didn't seem to work either. In fact, the stranger chuckled.

"Psh, good luck with that - they're already dead! In fact, I'm proud to say that I even had a hand in killing them. Well, not all of them. Two survived. I guess they're okay people... but even if you do try to kill them, they are pret-ty strong. I wouldn't worry about it."

Silence. They all stared at her.

Krillen sputtered. "H-How could you _do that_? T-To you're f-family? That's just evil!"

The female cocked her head. "But how do you know I'm the bad guy? What if _they _were the bad guys? You know as much about me as I know about you, so that's not really fair," she pouted.

Trunks spoke up. His Saiyan senses were tingling, too! Though, they happened to be slightly more rational compared to his suicidal father.

"You're right. We have no right to judge you. I'm sure you have at least some good in you. If you really do, please hand over the remote to _us_. Those three over there are actually androids, and they're the villains in this. So, please..." he trailed off.

"... How do I know you're the good guys?" the stranger asked after a pause.

"You don't," he replied honestly.

"I don't know, I don't like taking sides..." she admitted, scratching the back of her head in thought. Her fingers snapped as a solution came to her. "How about I just throw this thing in the air and the fastest person gets the remote?"

Trunks tried again more urgently. "Look, this isn't just some game! Thousands of lives are at stake here! If you don't give that remote to us, something very bad could happen!"

The stranger hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe... _If_ you answer these riddles three!"

"What? Y-You're kidding, right?" Krillen shouted, near hysterical. "We can't seriously decide who gets the remote by riddles! Didn't you hear Trunks? Thousands of lives are - "

"So we're going with the first idea and throwing it up in the air?" the stranger cut in.

"N-No!"

"Rock, paper, scissors?"

"NO!"

"Doesn't look like she cares about the lives of the innocent," Tien mumbled worriedly.

"Tch!" Piccolo glared at her. "It looks like we have no choice. What are the riddles?"

There was a dramatic pause. Everyone waited for the riddles with bated breath.

And waited.

And waited.

And -

"Well? What are the fucking riddles?" Vegeta snapped.

"Shh! I'm still thinking - You're ruining my concentration," she scowled, looking at them with mock anger. They stared back at her, angry and in disbelief. "Okay - First one: What is my name?"

"Bob!" Krillen instantly shouted.

"Wrong!" the stranger shouted back. "I'll give you a hint: it's not Bob."

"But we already know that!" Krillen insisted. "Give us another hint!"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. It's not Billy, either."

The small man almost sobbed.

"Oh, and you have a time limit. I'm giving you 15 seconds."

Krillen couldn't take it anymore. "Oh, come on! What are we doing? What kind of riddle is that, anyway? Give us a break! There are millions of names out there - you can't possibly expect us to guess just one! I mean, it's impossible!"

There was a pause. Krillin's friends stared at him, somewhat stunned at his sudden outburst. The stranger, however, did not seem to care. At least, not for Krillen... There was something else that caught her attention, though.

"... Congrats. You guessed my name," the stranger replied stiffly, wanting to quickly move on. "Now, the second riddle - "

"Wait - Really? What's your name? What did I say again?" He started listing off potential 'names' and counting them on his fingers. "On... Kind... Riddle... Give... Br - "

Krillin was cut off when a science beaker flew across the cave and hit him squarely in the head, efficiently knocking him out.

Everyone turned to the culprit, and the sight almost made them fall over.

The stranger in the cloak was huddled in the dark corner of the cave, hugging her knees with her head downcast. "Not my fault, bastard. I didn't choose the name..." They heard her sniff. "Bald son of a bitch..."

Tien blinked at her. "So... your name is really - "

The stranger stood up abruptly, holding yet another glass beaker above her head threateningly.

"I mean - ! Nope, I didn't hear anything. Did you, Piccolo?"

The alien grunted after a short pause. "Of course I heard it, idiot. I'm a Namekian - our hearing is superior compared to you humans."

"Enough of this!" Vegeta roared in anger. "You're wasting my time!" Without anymore warning, he ignored the cries of his companions and sent a blast of _Ki_ the stranger's way with a battle cry.

She disappeared.

"Uh... Where'd she - "

"Tada!"

Everyone turned toward the voice once more, and saw her standing outside the cave.

"What? How did you - "

She disappeared again. And just as they were afraid she might have made her escape, they heard her voice back inside the cave.

"Tada!"

They would turn their heads, and instantly she would disappear from their sight, only to reappear somewhere else, shouting the word: Tada.

It went like that for a while.

"Tada! Tada! Tada! Tad - OW SON OF A BITCH! WHO PUT THAT METAL BOX THERE?"

Thankfully, she was easily stopped.

The stranger looked accusingly down at the box. In the background, someone muttered "What is this? I don't even..." She ignored them. Then she blinked.

"Fred?" There was an incredulous hint in her voice as she stared down at the metal box and through the transparent glass. A bulky sort of man with orange hair laid behind it. "Is that Fred?"

Eighteen walked to where the stranger stood and cocked her head curiously at 'Fred'. A look of panic that flashed through Dr. Gero.

"Whoever he was, he's Sixteen now," Eighteen commented.

"WHAT?" Trunks shouted, horror written across his face. "There's a third cyborg?"

"Hey," the stranger said to the doctor, completely ignoring Trunk's dilemma. "Did you kidnap my friend and turn him into a cyborg?"

"That's impossible," Dr. Gero explained with narrowed eyes. "Sixteen was built from scratch."

"Really? Then, damn, what happened to Fred?"

Then,

"Oh, wait, he died in prison. Right, right..."

Vegeta roared once more and punched the wall of the cave. The cave shook, but otherwise everyone ignored him. They had their own frustrations to work on.

Tien sighed. "This is getting really old really quick."

"I know what you mean," Piccolo sympathized, rubbing his sore temples.

"We should remedy that," Seventeen concluded. Piccolo and Tien, being the only ones to have heard him clearly, narrowed their eyes in suspiscion. The stranger, having heard mumbling, stared at the group.

"Hey. What are you guys talking about?"

Then it happened.

All she saw was the blur of Seventeen's hand and she heard several gasps, and the stranger didn't know why until she looked down. The android's hand had struck her stomach and, looking over her shoulder, she saw that it went right through her back.

Yet, despite the horror of the situation, the stranger merely hummed in amusement.

"An appropriate response, I suppose," she told the android. Seventeen stared up at her with a somewhat shocked expression. Wasn't she supposed to be writhing in pain right about now? Yet she stood unfazed by it all, as if he'd done nothing.

He narrowed his eyes at her and retracted his hand, splattering her blood onto the cave's cold floor. The stranger didn't even flinch.

"What's going on?" Seventeen asked, voicing all their thoughts.

"Well, you see," the girl started, ripping her right sleeve off and using the cloth to stem the bleeding. "I can't feel pain. Ha. Ever since I was born. Heh. Good for some fights, but otherwise not so good. I can be dying and not know it. Know what I mean? Heh. Hahaha."

They all stared at her like Vegeta had just smiled angelically. Now what? Was the world going to blow up?

And just outside the cave, there was a sudden explosion.

"Holy shit! The world's going to blow!" Trunks shouted.

No, you idiot. That was a joke, _a joke_! Instead, a variety of colors streaked the sky, causing everyone to temporarily stare. Meanwhile, Trunks coughed inconspicuously and took a step back to avoid further embarrasment.

"Ooh," the stranger said, drawing back everyone's attention. "That's my cue to leave. Thanks for curing my boredom, though I could have done without the hole in my stomach. I'll see you when I see you, I guess. Bye!"

And then she was gone, leaving more than one question that needed to be answered.

Just who the hell was she?

Was she even a human being?

Why the strange attire? Was she ugly?

Would they ever see her again? Hopefully not.

Then,

"Wait - where's the remote?"

* * *

><p>- Long Omake -<p>

As they pondered the location of the remote with varied emotions, the unconcious Krillen groaned in pain. Even after some time, they did not remember him until...

"What's wrong?" Tien managed to ask through his gritted teeth. Those androids had really done a number on them.

Piccolo shook his head, then winced as he accidentally moved a sore muscle. "Nothing, I guess. Just had a feeling we forgot something..."

_Not yet... (Few hours later)_

At the dinner table, the worn out fighters ate their fill of the seafood Bulma and the others had been lucky to find on sale in their favorite grocery store.

In the middle of the feast, Tien suddenly slammed his hands on the table and stood up. "Wait! I... I can't believe it. We actually forgot... Krill!"

Silence.

Bulma frowned. "Tien, we don't _really _need krill. I mean, we've already got lobsters and everything!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes at the immature outburst. "Sit down, idiot."

Grumbling, Tien sat back down as the others returned to their food. "Damn it... I really like krill, though."

_Still not yet... (5 minutes later)_

"Wait!" Tien shouted once more.

Everyone groaned. Piccolo sighed. "What is it now?"

"Hm... Just... Isn't someone we know allergic to shellfish?" Tien asked, rubbing the back of his neck, deep in genuine thought.

"Tien," Piccolo deadpanned. "If someone were allergic, don't you think we would have noticed it when they started choking and dying?"

"Well, I know, but still..."

"Maybe it's Goku," Yamcha put in. "...Wait, no. He eats everything."

Tien shrugged halfheartedly. "Oh well."

_Back to Krillen... (Present time)_

Silence._ Cricket._

_Actually, they never did remember him. Not until Goku woke up. Then they had a "OH SHIT" moment and flew to the rubble of rocks that used to be the cave. Fortunately, they found their small friend and guiltily brought him to the nearest hospital, as he was practically almost dead. _

"Damn," Tien muttered under his breath as they all sat in the hospital's waiting room. "Just how hard can that chick throw? It was just a beaker..."

Piccolo coughed awkwardly. "I.. don't know. It could also have something to do with the cave collapsing on him. Er, This is certainly going to be hard to explain once Krillen wakes up..."

Vegeta scoffed. "Just fess up and tell him he is insignificant and has horrible friends."

Tien glared at the Saiyan. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Because I care _so_ much," he answered sarcastically, before scoffing and looking away.

Yamcha stared at the others incredulously. "Just how _did _you guys forget him?"

"Hey. You forgot him too!" Tien defended. Then he slumped in his seat. "We all did..."

Vegeta scoffed. "I didn't."

Pause.

"What."

"I didn't forget him. I was just waiting to see how long it would take you imbeciles to realize your friend was missing. I have to say, I'm quite impressed. I knew you were all mind-numbingly stupid, but I didn't know you were all _this_ stupid," he replied, smirking maliciously. "I can't wait to see his face when he wakes up and realizes what happened."

"You - !"

The End. 8D

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><p>Man, that Omake came out a lot longer than I intended it to be. Well, hoped you enjoyed reading. If not, sorry for wasting your time. This was just random for me. Have a nice day. :)<p> 


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